Clutch for drill heads



J y 1, 1953 A. B. CRICHTON, JR., ET-AL 2 ,646,147

4 CLUTCH FOR DRILL HEADS Filed 001;. 11, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l vINVENTOAmoktw a owe/{rang .14 xwa A TTOR/YE'X J y 1953 A. s. CRICHTON, JR.,ETAL 2,646,147

CLUTCH FOR DRILL HEADS Filed Oct. 11, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Elli-EE-INVENTORS, AAIQREN a. owe/Iron; 02, 4/? CAFL 6=. WE/VA'FIFJTFDM,

A T'OIFNEX Patented July 21, 1953 VUQNITED STATES P CLUTCH FOR 11mphHEADS Andrew-B. Crichton, Jr., Johnstown, Pa; and

Carl G. Wennerstmm, Chicago, 111.; San Wennerstrom assignor to Thecrichton Company, Johnstown, Pa., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationOctober 11, 1948, serial 53,963.

. v 1 This invention relates to a drill head especial ly applicable incoal mining and other relations 'of the general character disclosed inour pending applications, Serial No. 6,236, filed February '4, 1948, forCoal Mining Apparatus; Serial No. 21,893, filed April 19, 1948, for aPower Take- Off System and Apparatus; and Serial No. 21,894

fora Drill Head. I

An important object is to produce, as in said applications, irrespectiveof any particular source of power, a drill head wherein the torque ca.-

pacity of the clutch which controls the'operation of the auger, in orderto enhance safety of operation, will be in direct proportion to theamount of pressure manually exerted in applying the drill head, enablingthe miner to feel fhis way along as he drills and exert just enoughpressure to revolve the auger, any sticking or jamming of the drillcausing'slipping of the clutch.

While it is generally aimed to provide a construction which attains theobjects and'aims disclosed in the mentioned applications, it is alsoaimed to provide a novel clutch mounting,

lever-controlled mechanism for applying the clutch against slippage; anovel casing which may be more readily manipulated to position the drillin starting, and a novel detail construction generally.

Various additional objects and'advantages will in particular be pointedout and otherwise become apparent as this description progresses, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating one operativeembodiment by way of example. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a drill head constructed in accordance with theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a front or drill-end view of such drill head; V

Fig. 3 is a substantially longitudinal sectional view on an enlargedscale taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

6 Claims. (Cl'.192-20) 4 Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken on the line 4-4tures 3 I.

: ents.

Said casing-m: may comprise two or more separate sections such asajmainsection [4 and a generally flat cover orclo'sure section I5 se curedtogetheras by screws l6. Aligned hubs J H and I8 extend outwardly fromthesaid sections and suitably, rotatably and slidably mount theaforesaid tool drive shaft l2 at portions I9 and located on oppositesides of a clutch generally designated C, and which includes, rigid withthe. shaft 52, a clutch section 2| provided by an initially separate hubrin'g122 and a clutch head '23. Clutch C also includes a large sectionor plate 24 having a hub 25 concentric with shaft portion 20 andanopposed large section or plate .42, with a ring gear 26 interposed,such clutch parts being separably secured together by screws or bolts 26and collectively 'form a large hollow gear wheel, either oiltight oropen; Said ring gear 26 is provided with external gear-teeth 21. Saidring-gear 2B drives shaft l2 to operate the coal cutting auger undercontrol of the said clutch C. Enmeshed with teeth 21 are the teeth of aslow speed? gear wheel 28 formed integral with a stub, shaft 29removably journalled in bearings 30 on the sections H and I8 andpreferably directly in needle or roller bearing struc- Keyed on shaft 29is a high speed pinion 32 enmeshed with a .highv speed pinion 33 (Fig.

2). keyed to a driving shaft 34 coupled in unitary relation with ndrivenfiby a flexible shaft 35. such )shaft 34 being journalled in abearing 36 in .casing section [5 and in ball or needle-bearing structure31 partly and removably disposed "inv a bearing opening 38 in Jcasingsection l4. Said. shaft 34. with pinion 33 thereon and said 'part ofstructure 3 1'are applicable and remova ble through saidopening 38.

Said flexible shaft is adapted to bedriven 'fromany suitable sourceofpower and especially l'f lqm, a short wall coal-putter. or other meansnecessarily 'employedin mining'operations, as in our previouslyidentified applications forpat- Reverting to clutch c, it is preferablyof the friction type employing a series of separate rings or disks 39arranged for frictional engagement with each other and alternatelyhaving guided "engagement atfmarginal notches with the afore-.

"said screws or b0lts' 26 and with any number of splines or keys 4|carried by ring gear 26 and hub ring 22.

The casing In is adapted to be filled with lubricant as through anopening in cover 15 normally closed by-a'screw-plug l5 which ispartially or on its inner face ha attached thereto or loosely provided asuitable ring lining or bearing. Plate 42 may be loosely journalled orfloat or be relatively fixed as preferred. The hub ll is sealed againstthe escape of lubricant in-any suitable manner as by means of one ormore ring gasketwashers 46.

Said hub 25 i journalled in a ball-bearing device or structure 58 ofsuch size as to take the thrust imposed by the drill or auger, and whichis mounted in an inwardly extending mounting ring 48 of greater diameterthan hub l8 and integral .With casing section I4. Hubs l8 and 25 greatlystrengthen the casing section l4.

Said shaft portion i slidable as Well as journalled in hub andterminates in a reduced portion 49 which is journaled and has limitedsliding movementin a suitable ball bearing or equivalent structure 58. Asplit ring 53, detach- L ably mounted in an annular groove 54 in ring 22aids in confining and positioning the clutch rings or disks 39. V

A clutch control rod 55 shown as a bolt is disposed slidably in the boreof the tool drive shaft I2, with a head 56 bearing against a plate 5!which in turn abuts the outer end of shaft. portion 49 and the adjacentsurface of a race of the aforesaid ball bearing device or equivalentstructure 58. Control rod 55 at screw-threads 68 is adjustably engagedwith the screw-threads of a nut 6| slightly slidable but non-rotatablylocated in the bore of hollow shaft l2, as by a screw lug 62 threaded toand carried by said shaft and extending into a longitudinal groove 63 ofsaid nut 6!. A coil spring 64 surrounds rod 55 bearing at one endagainst saidnut and at its other end against a shoulder 65 in the saidbore of hollow shaft l2.

It is to be noted that spring 64 may be compressed or variably tensionedaccording to the adjustment of the rod 55 and coacting nut 6|.

Said rod 55 is adapted to be moved to the right, noting Fig. 3, tocorrespondingly move the tool drive-shaft IE to the right, against thetension'of the spring 64, and thus apply the clutch section 23 tocompact and frictionally bind the clutch rings or disks 39 and therebyapply the clutch. To this end, a tubular mounting member 66 is slidablymounted in the bore of hub 18, prefer ably projecting slightly outwardlyfrom said bore. The bearing device 58 is in unitary relation and moveswith the. tubular mounting member 66 bearing at one side against aninwardly extending flange 6'! of the latter, and against the other sidethereof an interiorly recessed cap 68 abuts, the latter beingscrew-threaded at 69 to the interior of the tubular bearing member 66.Thus the cap 58 is readily removable to permit access to and adjustmentof the rod 55 through the engagement of the head 56.

Any suitable means may be employed to slide the tubular mounting memberoutwardly or to the right in Figs. 1 and 3 in order that the plate .51and .rod 55 will be correspondingly moved it since one race of thebearing structure 58 abuts said plate 51.

As shown, means to accomplish the result stated consists of a lever 10which at a U-shaped portion is pivoted at H to an exterior lug 58 on thecap 68. Said lever 18 is also pivoted at 14 to a link 15 in turn pivotedat 15 to a lug 19 on said hub I8. Clutch shifting or applying lever 11terminates in a handle 18 of suitable length arranged relatively closeto one of the handles ll on the opposite side to pivot H in order thatit may be simultaneously grasped with the latter handle by one hand ofthe operator when desired.

Attention is called to the fact that hub I7 is of such size and positionas to enable engagement by one hand of the operator to facilitate thedirecting and locating of the drill when starting to drill a hole.Further, to this end, hub IT has a handle extension 5! and a shoulder 52at its junction with the hub or handle ll. Safety in using the handlell5| is enhanced since no parts are removable outwardly therethrough.

With the parts as in Fig. 3, with one hand engaging the handle Ill-5| toguide or position the drill or auger, presuming the clutch C to be inreleased position, spring 64 is usually neutral or uncompressed wherebyplate 5'! is maintained in contact with the inner race member of ballbearing structure 58, and this action is augmented through an urge toslide clutch control rod to the left, if such spring 64 is undercompression. In this position, said spring being neutral does not bindthe clutch section 23 against the friction rings or disks 39 or bindthem together. However, when lever T! is pressed at the handle 18 towardthe adjacent handle-rod I I (as in Fig. 1) the system of leverage andlinkage applies the clutch by sliding the tubular mounting memberslightly to the right, moving the bearing structure 58 with it, also theplate 5?, rod 55, nut 8!, compressing or tensioning the spring 64, andslightly moving tool drive shaft !2 to the right and causing clutchsection 23 to compact the plates 39 against each other and against theplate 24.

Attention is called to the fact, however, that this operation is notnormally necessary in order to apply the clutch, but is useful toincrease the clutch pressure and is especially useful when an operatordesires to extract an auger or tool from the coal. Should the operator,for any reason let go of the handles H while drilling, the apparatus isautomatically relieved of pressure and the clutch C is automaticallyreleased to avoid injury to the workman or mechanism. At any rate, suchspring 64 is adapted to yield at a predetermined degree of tension, as asafety measure, so that the drill-head and drill cannot twist the armsand body of the operator when using the same. The said clutch plates areof such multiplicity and friction contact with each other and with theclutch section 23 and hollow clutch section 24, that mere pressure ofthe tool head and auger against the coal by manual effort, will slidethe tool drive shaft 22 slightly to the right in Fig. 3, therebycompacting the rings or, disks 39 and frictionally binding the same andadjacent faces of clutch sections 23 and 24, it being clear that theclutch C will be released upon relief of the pressure through theexpansion of spring 6d and the pushing action of plate 5? toward theleft in Fig. 3 in view of its contact with bearing structure 58, sincethe latter moves with the slidable tubular mounting member 86.

' Various changes may be resorted to provided they fall within thespirit and scope of the invention. What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of the class described having a casing, a tool operatingshaft rotatably and slidably mounted in said casing, a gear journaled insaid casing, means to drive said gear, a bearing device in said casingto take the thrust imposed on said gear in operation, clutch meanswithin the casing between saidgear and shaft controlled through thesliding of said shaft, one wall of said casing having an inwardlyextend-- ing ring flange and an outwardly extending hub, said bearingdevice being mounted in said flange, said wall having a shoulder Withinand inwardly of said flange abutted by said bearing device, andmechanism operable exteriorly of the easing to apply the clutch partsincluding an element slidable in said hub. v

1 2. Apparatus of the class described comprising separable sectionsforming a casing, each section havingan outwardly extending hub integraltherewith, a shaft adapted to operate an I anger or the like havingportions journaled and slidable'in said sections, one of said hubs beingelongated and serving as a handle to direct and center said shaft, agear in said casing concentrio with and enlarged with respect to saidshaft comprising a toothed ring, plates on opposite sides of the ring,means separably securing said tween said shoulder and last-mentionedhub, a

clutch head on said shaft opposite to the inner lateral Wall of one ofsaid plates, friction clutch means in said gear coacting with said walland clutch head.

3. An apparatus of the class described having a casing, a shaftrotatably and slidably mounted in said casing adapted to operate anauger or the like, a gear journalled in said casing, means to drive saidgear, a bearing device in said casing to take the thrust imposed on said1 gear in operation, clutch means within the casing associated with saidgear and controlled through the sliding of said shaft, said gearincluding a hub through which said shaft passes,

said hub extending into said bearing device, one

wall of said casing having an inwardly extending ring flange and anoutwardly extending hub, said wall forming a shoulder integral with itand disposed interiorly of said rim flange, the interior diameter ofsaid ring flange being greater than the interior diameter of the latterhub, said bearing device being mounted in said ring flange and abuttingsaid shoulder, and mechanism operable exteriorly of the casing to applythe clutch parts including an element slidably mounted in saidlast-mentioned hub. 1

4. An apparatus of the class described having a casing, a shaftrotatably and slidably mounted in said casing adapted to operate anauger or the like, a gear journalled in said casing, means to drive saidgear, a bearing device in said casing to take the thrust imposed on saidgear in operation, clutch means within the casing associated with saidgear and controlled through the sliding of said shaft, said gearincluding a hub through which said shaft passes, said hub extending intosaid bearing device, one wall of said casing having an inwardlyextending ring flange and an outwardly extending hub, the interiordiameter of said ring flange being greater than the interior diameter ofthe latter hub, said bearing device being mounted in said ring flange,and mechanism operable to apply the clutch parts including an elementslidably mounted in the last-mentioned hub, a bearing device carried bysaid element, said shaft extending through said second bearing device, acap securing said second bearing device in said element, and anoperating device connected to said cap.

5. Apparatus of the class described comprising separable sectionsforming a casing, each section having an outwardly extending hubintegral therewith, a shaft adapted to operate an anger or the likehaving portions journaled and slidable in said sections, one of saidhubs being elongated and serving as a handle to direct and center amounted tool, a gear in said casing concentric with and enlarged withrespect to said shaft comprising a toothed ring, plates on oppositesides of the ring, means separably securing said plate and ringtogether, means to drive said gear, one of said plates having a hubjournaling one of said portions and in turn journaled in one of thefirst-mentioned hubs, the latter hub having an interior shoulder, washermeans between said shoulder and last-mentioned hub, a clutch head onsaid shaft opposite to the inner lateral wall of one of said plates,friction clutch means in said gear coacting with said wall and clutchhead, the other plate having a hub extension through Which said shaftpasses, an in- Wardly extending ring flange integral with the samecasing section as the other hub and of a greater interior diameter thanthe latter hub, a bearing device mounted in the said ring flange, saidhub extension passing into said bearing device, and mechanism operableto apply the clutch parts including an element slidably mounted in thelast-mentioned hub.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 having means operable interiorly ofthe casing and entering the latter adjacent one end of said shafttoapply said clutch means, and means to slid ingly urge said shaft awayfrom said one end to clutch-releasing position.

ANDREW B. CRICHTON, JR. CARL G. WENNERSTROM.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,335,926 Fawick Dec. 7, 1943 2,339,324 Fischer Jan. 18, 19442,372,397 Sheroff Mar. 27, 1945

